As much as Starlight hated to admit it, she was panicking. She and Sunburst had started searching in a mile wide radius around her grandmother’s mansion by teleporting at different intervals, split to cover more ground quicker. However, by sunrise they had expanded that by another mile, and now that it was well past noon, her hopes were beginning to fade as her patience was strained. She had finished her portion of the radius only a few minutes ago and was now awaiting Sunburst’s return to inform him she had nothing.
She knew Sunburst was doing his best to make sure he didn’t miss anywhere Cozy could be hiding, she was nonetheless impatient while she waited. After several extremely long minutes, Sunburst suddenly flashed into the front room of the mansion. There were already bags under his eyes, but she saw right away some excitement through the tiredness. Pushing aside her worry and impatience for a moment, she rushed to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder and desperately asking, “What is it, Sunburst?”
“A hotel, not quite a mile and a half away from here,” he began to explain. “I almost missed it since its made of logs and pretty small, but it’s the first sign of anypony else until Sire’s Hollow. I don’t know if Cozy was actually there or not, since I didn’t check the hotel itself. I figured if she were there, it’d be better to have you there as well, just in case.”
“Sweet Celestia, I hope I won’t be needing any magic, especially if there are other ponies around,” Starlight sighed, bowing her head at the thought of having to fight Cozy.
“Hey, I’m sure it won’t come down to it,” Sunburst replied, grabbing the hoof on his shoulder and holding it tightly. Looking up at the stallion, he continued, “Besides, this time she has no magic, no disguise, and is dealing with one of the best mages in the world!”
“Two of the best mages in the world,” Starlight corrected, giving him a small nudge. “All right then, take us to the hotel.”
“Yes ma’am,” he replied before closing his eyes to concentrate.
Starlight watched as he tensed up, his horn beginning to glow brightly before a crisp whiteness surrounded them. Blinking the light from her eyes, she felt the ground beneath her hooves become rugged and loose, dirt instead of tile. Looking around quickly, she found the mentioned hotel, which honestly looked quite cozy nestled between the trees of the surrounding forest, just barely off the beaten path. It was small, as Sunburst had said, probably only half the size of the mansion, and completely made of logs. In spite of her urgency, Starlight gave the hotel a little nod of appreciation.
“Well, this is it,” Sunburst muttered, beginning to walk towards it. His eyes were darting from closed window to closed window, as if suspecting Cozy was watching them. “It’s only a mile from Sire’s Hollow. If we don’t find her here, we should just move on to there.”
“She could still be lost in the forest, though,” Starlight pointed out, tearing her eyes from the hotel windows to look around at the surrounding forest. “Maybe she’s not in the hotel though. Check the perimeter first, then we’ll check inside. I doubt she’d risk revealing herself to any patrons. If anything, she might have skipped past the hotel completely in order to find… something less populated.”
“Still, it’s the first place that isn’t open woodlands,” Sunburst sighed with a shrug. “Let’s hope it has at least some clues to her being here.”
“Alright then, I’ll loop around the left side of the hotel and you loop around the right,” Starlight said, pointing out the paths with a hoof. “When we meet up at the back we’ll go to the front entrance and ask about anything fishy going on around here.”
“I uh, think it might be better to go… together,” the unicorn suggested with a slight squeak. Glancing back at her orange companion, watching as he cringed slightly at his awkward proposal, the mare blushed slightly.
Shrugging, she stammered, “Why not. Best not to split up now that we might actually find Cozy Glow.”
“For whatever that means,” he added reassuringly, nodding at her. With a deep breath, Starlight tore her eyes away from the stallion and began making her way around the left side of the hotel. In truth, sneaking around like this was almost second nature to her. Even though it had been almost five years since her venture as the overlord of that hapless town, she still retained her skills in snooping around without being noticed. Of course, that would only be if Cozy was here and didn’t know of her and Sunburst’s presence.
Giving the hotel a wide berth just in case, staying just past the edge of the forest, she led the stallion around the rather thin hotel. It was four stories tall, but very thin, like a giant slat of wood that had been stuck in the ground on its side. There was a back part to it, a little area with a few benches and wood tables. A set of stone stairs led down a slope and towards what sounded a little like running water. However, there was nopony around that part, or even outside at all. The hotel seemed to just sit in content silence, surrounded by the forest. Frowning slightly, she glanced back at Sunburst and hushly asked him, “Do you think it might be abandoned?”
“I don’t think so,” he shrugged honestly. “Otherwise there would be way more forest around it.”
“Fair point,” Starlight agreed before pressing on. The slope that had appeared behind the hotel would certainly cause them some issues seeing as how the area behind the hotel was cleared of any forest cover. Seeing as they wanted to remain unnoticed, they would have to go downhill with the cover of the forest before finishing circling the little hotel. The underbrush wasn’t dense and the slope was gentle, but it still required Starlight to focus more on it than her surroundings. She was maybe halfway down the slope when she suddenly heard Sunburst hiss, “Starlight, stop!”
Freezing, her eyes darted around for what might have caused the stallion to stop her. However, she couldn’t see much thanks to the preponderance of trees and healthy bushes scattered along the hillside. It didn’t take longer for her to hear what had given Sunburst pause, though. Over the sounds of the lively forest and running water, she could pick out indistinct voices not too far away from them. Her eyes widening, she glanced back and Sunburst, who bit his lip nervously but nodded. The voices were loud, not afraid of being heard, but maybe there was a chance…
Carefully watching where her hooves stepped, Starlight continued down the hill without Sunburst. Every rustling leaf and little stick crackling made Starlight’s fur stick up that much more, but the voices became clearer as she made her way downhill. Taking a deep breath, she made it to the bottom of the slope, barely avoiding falling into the little creek that ran along the shallow divet. The creek bent around the side of the hill, leading towards the pair of voices she could hear. Swallowing hard, she moved ever so slightly to try and peek past the hill. The voices were young, giving her both some hope and a rapid pulse. It would be a miracle to find Cozy Glow so close to the mansion after all of the time they had spent searching, but also be just as bad if she had been seen by too many ponies.
Finally, Starlight was able to peer just past the brush of the hillside and see a clearing around the creek. With a shaky breath, she immediately recognized Cozy as one of the two young ponies that sat talking by the creek. Starlight immediately tucked herself back behind the hillside even though they hadn’t been looking towards her, placing a hoof on her chest as she tried to gain control of her breathing. It was almost too good to be true, yet at the same time she couldn’t even begin to understand why the other pony was sticking around. Finding Cozy had been her priority, but now Starlight had to face the fact that there might be a mess to clean up now as well.
Gathering her senses, she peeked around the side of the hill again to get a better look. Cozy for her part seemed to be putting on a very innocent act, not too unlike the one she had put up at the School of Friendship. Biting her lip, Starlight focused on the other pony, trying to figure out who they were and why in the world they weren’t panicking in the face of one of Equestria’s greatest threats. The other pony was a colt probably five or so years older than Cozy, a unicorn who seemed to be wholly engaged in whatever conversation they were having with a bright smile. Furrowing her brows at this, the unicorn strained to hear what they were talking about better.
“I swear, swimming in the ocean has got pools beat eight times over,” the colt was saying. “I mean, there’s so many fish and turtles and little squid that are just as interested in you as you are of them! Seaquestria has gotta be one of the best places to just relax and explore on your own.”
“Maybe, but there hasn’t been much opportunity for me to visit,” Cozy chuckled in reply. “I mean, unless Twilight decided to take us to show off to Queen Novo, I’ve never been.”
Starlight’s jaw dropped as she continued listening in. Cozy was just openly talking about her imprisonment in stone with an older colt she couldn’t have met more than a day ago. As if it were normal conversation material instead of incredibly incriminating evidence of her wrongdoings against Equestria! Ducking behind her cover, Starlight found herself questioning the very nature of Cozy as it were. She was a secretive little filly who hadn’t given up anything to Starlight during the week that she had been recovering in the mansion, yet now she was talking about her imprisonment, an event so traumatizing Starlight only had to mention for the little filly to clamp up.
“Well, one of these summers you could join me and my parents,” the colt replied brightly, causing Starlight’s attention to be drawn to him again. Was he flirting with Cozy Glow? With a careful glance, she began watching the two again, focusing on the unnamed colt this time. He was sitting there with a smile on his face akin to a dog simply enjoying life, determinedly not trying to flirt with a filly much too young for him. In spite of her tension, Starlight was able to recognize the genuine friendliness in the kid and found herself smiling at it. Maybe that was why Cozy has stuck around…
“Would your parents be okay with that,” the little filly asked with sassy disbelief. “I mean, I just randomly showed up at their hotel one night. They’re great and all, but I bet they’re at least a little suspicious about me.”
Frowning, Starlight withdrew behind the cover of the forest to think. This colt seemed to have Cozy’s attention occupied completely, and hopefully for long enough for Starlight to investigate the colt’s parents. It seemed like his parents were around here somewhere, almost certainly inside the hotel somewhere. Whether they knew about Cozy or not was just as vital now, as preventing more ponies from seeing her and letting news of her “escape” spread could mean preventing a panic. Slowly, she withdrew from the side of the hill and began ascending the hill once again, quickly returning to Sunburst.
“She’s here and talking with a colt,” she quickly told the nervous stallion. The unicorn’s eyes went wide at the information but Starlight put a hoof on his muzzle before he could interrupt her. “I don’t know how long he’ll have her distracted, but everything seems- genuinely- friendly, so hopefully long enough for us to see how many other ponies have seen her. The colt mentioned his parents, and I’m pretty sure Cozy has at least met them, so we need to find them first.”
“Gotcha,” Sunburst replied, his eyes darting in the direction of the young ponies. He had a more thoughtful look now, less concerned and more curious. Wordlessly, he turned and began moving back up the hillside, Starlight following after as she glanced at the hotel. Given the lack of other ponies outside, she guessed they were in the hotel. Even though she didn’t quite have a plan for how to contain information of Cozy Glow’s freedom, she knew she had to at least stop it from spreading.
Finally cresting the hill, she made a beeline for the double door entrance of the hotel. There was still nopony around, making Starlight seriously consider whether or not this was really an active hotel or just some place teenagers hung about as a cool, abandoned spot in the forest. However, weighing her options, there was nothing to lose by checking regardless, so with a measured breath and a glance back at Sunburst, she continued on.
Pushing through the doors, a bell rang somewhere to her left, and when she had stepped fully into the hotel she saw it came from behind a small front desk. Pausing and listening for the sounds of anypony else in the hotel, Starlight could see quite clearly that even though the hotel was empty, it was not abandoned. The well-maintained interior had a lovely warm feel to it, like a blanket was wrapped around her and the smell of wood was relaxing. Smiling in spite of herself, she heard the sounds of hooves on wood from another room downstairs, followed by a female voice calling, “I’m coming right away, hold on a minute please!”
There was a frantic patter of hooves and suddenly a middle-aged mare appeared out from a door to the pair’s left. She was a unicorn with white hair and a lovely tan coat, and even though she was older than Starlight, it couldn’t be by more than five years. Her face was flushed as she used her magic to pull out a binder and pen from under the front desk.
“I’m so sorry for the wait, we aren’t used to visitors at noon,” she apologized, flipping open the binder. “How can we help you today?”
“My name’s Starlight Glimmer, and if you have a minute to talk, I have some… unfortunate news,” Starlight began, eyeing the mare. In spite of her unpreparedness, she didn’t seem panicked like she should be if she knew who was roaming her hotel’s grounds.
“You’re here for that little filly, aren’t you,” the mare guessed mournfully, startling Starlight. “I figured it wouldn’t take too long for somepony to come looking for little Red Rook. Don’t worry, our son Scout managed to find her and bring her inside before nightfall.”
“Red Rook,” Sunburst began to question before Starlight jumped in, immediately catching on.
“Yes, Red Rook, she spent the night here,” she repeated, getting an affirmative nod from the mare.
The unicorn’s welcoming smile vanished as she glanced at the room she had left and stated, “Before we continue, I’d like to grab my husband. Considering we’re talking about a runaway filly, I think it would be smart to have all adults involved be in the room.”
“Of course,” Starlight nodded, watching as the mare quickly stepped around the counter and exited the room. Turning to Sunburst, she shared a silent look with him. At the very least, these two ponies had seen Cozy Glow, however, they didn’t act like they knew she was one of Equestria’s biggest threats. Instead, the mare had talked about her like a runaway filly, prompting Starlight to wonder what sort of story Cozy had woven to cover her sudden appearance from the middle of the forest. If the crafty filly had already gotten these ponies on her side, it would be incredibly difficult to convince them of the nature of the filly who had spent the night with them.
The stallion nodded slowly, his lips pressed thin as he had the very same thoughts as her. She could see it in his eyes that in spite of his willingness to help, this was far outside his comfort zone. Unfortunately for them, the longer they spent standing in the hotel’s lobby, the less confident she felt. In spite of the calming environment the hotel produced, the emptiness and silence was getting to her even though there was nothing else to make her uneasy. Finally, however, the mare returned with her husband, a large, dark brown unicorn with a mane that looked like leaves from a tree.
“This is my husband, Oak Bush, and my name is Aspen Hearth,” the mare politely introduced. Nodding to the room she had just emerged from, she added, “If you would, please join us in the dining room so we can sit while we discuss Red.”
“Of course,” Starlight repeated, unintentionally eyeing Oak as he turned and followed his wife into the room. In spite of herself, the thought entered her mind that he would be a difficult opponent if it came down to it. Her stomach churned as she entered the dining area, a bit smaller than the main lobby but large enough for a few tables and accompanying chairs. The married couple took the far end of one of the tables while she and Sunburst sat down at the chairs nearest to the door. The twisting in her stomach burned, hating how this whole ordeal was making her think like this.
“So, Red Rook…” Oak began, the large stallion’s face looking passively uncertain… yet also concerned. Pushing aside the thoughts brought on by chasing Cozy Glow and inevitably having to confront her, Starlight recognized that the couple was harmless. It only took a quick assessment of their expressions to see that they were concerned for the filly, most likely pondering what to do themselves.
“Our Scout brought her in last night when he was late for dinner and we didn’t question it at first,” Aspen continued. “Our son has always been quick, smart, and a natural pathfinder… but he doesn’t have any friends to show for it. Being out of school and away from the town, and with his interest more in trees and bushes than friends, that is. We were excited because everypony needs a friend, and if he found one wandering around in the woods, maybe they have the same interests. Even if Rook looked five years younger than our son, we know him as the type of colt to not care if she’s a bit childish.”
“Uh huh,” Sunburst skeptically muttered, earning a glare from Starlight. It wouldn’t help them if he aggravated the couple.
The parents, however, looked at least understanding, Oak nodding as he clarified, “I know how that sounds, but Scout genuinely doesn’t care how old or young somepony is, he just wants to be friends with everypony. Strange, true, since he rarely talks to anypony these days. That’s a different conversation, though.”
“We assume you’re the parents of Rook, given she told us somepony would come looking for her,” Aspen continued. “If I may, you are a very good couple. Why would she run away?”
Pushing through a blush, shifting slightly in her seat, Starlight hesitantly explained, “Well, that’s not quite the case. What do you know about Cozy Glow?”
“Cozy Glow,” Oak repeated, clearly confused. “You mean one of the three villains that was turned to stone about five months back after trying to tear apart Equestria? What’s her role in this?”
Starlight opened her mouth to break the news, but seeing the confused and terrified look in the couple’s eyes made her choke on her words. Sunburst had clamped up completely and with the uncomfortable silence spreading, he began staring at the floor. Cozy, it appeared, had already earned their sympathy, and now… Starlight and him were forever ruining their ability to trust anypony again.
“You don’t mean to say…” Aspen began in disbelief, reaching over and grabbing her husband’s hoof. The unspoken truth visibly resonated across Oak’s face, his jaw beginning to drop slightly in shock.
“How is that possible,” the mare questioned hushly. “How did she escape? The Princesses turned her to stone!”
“The Princesses exacted their justice, but the Elements of Harmony released Cozy when they exacted theirs,” Starlight answered vaguely.
“So… she’s not dangerous,” Oak guessed hopefully. After a second he shook his head and muttered, “No, no, otherwise you wouldn’t be here looking for her…”
“Wait a minute, you’re Starlight Glimmer, like Dean of the School of Friendship,” Aspen suddenly questioned, her eyes going wide as she realized who she was talking to.
“Yes…” the unicorn hesitantly confirmed.
“So she’s that dangerous,” Oak exclaimed, standing up instantly. “She’s out there with our son right now! We have to save him!”
“Whoa whoa whoa,” Starlight yelped as she stood up, moving to the doorway to block the panicking father. “Genuinely, I don’t think he’s in danger. For one reason or another, I think Cozy wants him to think they’re friends.”
“How does that make the situation any better,” Aspen asked, standing up as well and joining her husband. “She tricked us so easily, imagine what she could convince him to do! He’s more trusting than anypony I've ever known, let alone the fact he hardly pays attention to anything that doesn’t go on in the forest! He’ll have no idea what kind of dangerous things she could convince him to do.”
“That’s something we’re afraid of having happen, but we can’t just storm out there and seize Cozy,” Starlight explained slowly, sitting on the floor where he stood. “Firstly, she stuck around, which means either her plan is centered around here or she doesn’t even have a plan. Personally, I think the latter is more likely, given she doesn’t know where she is and apparently is trying to get away. Secondly, it would be wrong of us to just take her into custody like she’s done something wrong, when she clearly hasn’t yet. Finally… it’s my fault she escaped. I told her the doors are windows were unlocked at the mansion she was recovering at, and she took the opportunity I told she had and left. Did I think she would return before dark? Foolishly, yes.”
“So… she’s… not quite evil right now,” Oak attempted to understand.
“That’s a good way to put it,” Sunburst surmised, still sitting awkwardly in a chair at the table. “We want to make sure what she’s doing isn’t evil, and more importantly that she isn’t seen by anypony. Since she has been- obviously- we need to contain that news.”
“And that’s where we and our son fit into the picture,” Aspen realized. Sitting down as well in thought, she quickly stated, “There hasn’t been anypony but us and you around here.”
“Oh thank Celestia,” Starlight sighed with relief. At least the situation was containable, easily so, even.
“Okay… so, what’s the plan,” Oak questioned, sitting down, his brow creased with concern still.
“I don’t know,” Starlight replied, “but with your help I think we can peacefully get Cozy Glow to come with us without causing any other problems. I hope…”
Finally standing up, Sunburst quickly proposed, “It’s almost dinner time, or at least, my dinner time. Do you think that Cozy will return for dinner?”
“Probably,” Aspen answered thoughtfully. “She wouldn’t leave now that it’s getting so late in the day, and if she doesn’t suspect anything, she probably will keep acting the way she has.”
“Then we can assess from there how dangerous Cozy might be, if she is at all,” Sunburst finalized. “We can reveal ourselves to her and try to have a conversation. Maybe if she’s around Scout, she won’t overreact, if she really is trying to be his friend. From there it will figure itself out. Too many variables involved to really have a plan.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Starlight agreed with a warm smile, earning a little grin from Sunburst.
Across from them, Aspen asked, “Are you really not a couple?”